1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to telecommunications, and in particular to correlating telecommunications infrastructures with infrastructure usage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Service providers, such as cellular phone service providers, may be licensed to provide service within specific areas. The service providers install or lease telecommunications infrastructure, such as cellular antennas, within the licensed service areas. The location and density of the infrastructure can be critical in determining the quality of service that the provider has in a given area. Disadvantageously, service users do not have adequate access to or an understanding of such infrastructure information and so cannot adequately evaluate the telecommunications service provider""s quality of service. Thus, users contract for telecommunications services before knowing the level of service that they will be receiving. Only after contracting for and utilizing the telecommunication service, can the user determine whether the service provider""s telecommunication infrastructure, and hence service, meets the user""s needs.
Other problems exist in providing appropriate services. Many industries, such as the telecommunications industry and the energy industry, have undergone extensive deregulation. While deregulation should theoretically lower costs to consumers, for many services, such as electricity, retail customers lack the information and tools needed to make informed pricing and service decisions. Thus, many customers have not taken advantage of deregulation, depriving them of cost savings and/or improved service.
Similarly, providers, such as electricity or telecommunications providers, have not had a cost effective method of identifying and targeting desirable customers. Thus, service providers have not been able to effectively compete with a customer""s existing or incumbent provider, and so have been deprived of meaningful opportunities to enter new markets and acquire new customers.
The present invention is related to methods and systems for correlating user needs with providers"" goods and services, such as offered by utility and telecommunications providers. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a distributed information system provides users, service providers, and distributors with sufficient information to enable them to make informed decisions before entering into contractual relationships.
Advantageously, the distributed information system provides consumers with substantially real-time information at the point of sale, ensuring that a consumer""s requirements or preferences are correlated with the services and/or products being acquired.
One embodiment of the present invention provides utility suppliers with information related to consumers of utility services or products, such as electricity, gas, water, telecommunication services (including, but not limited to wireless services, cellular services, paging services, and wired phone services), cable, broadband services (including, but not limited to ADSL, DSL, T1, satellite, and cable services), heating oil, and other related products and services. Based on the consumer information, one or more suppliers may generate offers to provide the products and services to consumers, which are then provided to the consumers. More generally, one embodiment of the present invention may be used to facilitate deals between suppliers and purchasers of products and services, where the price of the products or services are based at least in part on a given customer""s characteristics or preferences. These customer characteristics may relate to, by way of example, the customer usage of a product or service, such as customer""s usage amount, usage location, and time of usage, and/or to financial characteristics, including credit worthiness, payment history, assets, debt, and related characteristics. Such products and services may include leases, mortgages, insurance, investment instruments, and the like.
Advantageously, one embodiment of the present invention acts as a neutral market maker for services, such as utility services, allowing consumers and utility providers to be better and more efficiently matched. A plurality of consumer profiles are generated, and based on these profiles a supplier may select an individual consumer and/or define a subset of consumers and bid to supply service or services to the individual consumer or that consumer subset.
In one embodiment, consumers"" identities are not revealed to suppliers during the bidding process to thereby protect consumers"" privacy. In addition, the identity of suppliers may likewise not be revealed to consumers, to keep suppliers"" bidding strategies and pricing structure secret.
In still another embodiment, information from the consumer may be collected via a terminal located at a conventional, physical, xe2x80x9cbricks and mortarxe2x80x9d store. Thus, as similarly described above, consumer data, including preferences and/or usage data, is collected and based at least in part on the preferences and/or usage information, offers and related information may be generated specifically for the consumer. The information and offers may then be provided to the consumer via the store terminal. For example, the consumer may be presented with a list of products and/or services ranked based upon the consumer data. This advantageously allows the store to customize and selectively offer to consumers both products and related services. Based on the ranked list, the consumer can quickly locate and order the most suitable products and/or services. In addition, the store can optionally provide the product and/or activate the related services before the consumer leaves the store.
In one embodiment, a quality of service application helps users select the service provider that offers the most suitable service. For example, one such quality of service (QOS) application aids users select the telecommunications service provider with the most suitable telecommunications infrastructure, including the most suitable placement and density of antennas for the users needs. The customer is asked by the QOS application for information related to the user""s present or anticipated service and/or product utilization patterns. For example, with respect to cellular service, the customer is presented with a service area usage form, wherein the customer specifies where the customer intends to use a cellular phone or other similar telecommunications device. The form may be displayed on a touch sensitive terminal installed in a retail site or on a conventional end-user terminal in the user""s home or business. The form, by way of example, can include a map of an area of interest.
Major cellular service areas are indicated on the map. Optionally, the name of a city or town located within or adjacent to a given service area may be displayed in conjunction with the service area indicator. The user is asked to select which service areas the customer intends to typically use their cellular phone in. The selected circles are highlighted, filed in, or otherwise emphasized. The user can then submit or verify the selection.
Next, a more detailed map of a first of the selected service areas, and optionally, adjacent areas, is presented. The map may show, for example, the local cities and towns within or adjacent to the selected circled area. With finer granularity, the user can select in which of these local areas the user intends to use the cellular phone in. The selected areas are highlighted, filed in, or otherwise emphasized. The user can then submit or verify the selection or selections.
Once the user selects the local areas of interest, the user can indicate which routes the user typically travels on. The displayed routes can include major and secondary highways, as well as streets, subways, trains, ferries, and other routes. The user can then select or indicate which routes the user typically uses. The selected routes are then further highlighted or otherwise emphasized by changing the color of the selected routes, flashing the routes, outlining the routes in bold, or using other emphasis techniques. The user can then submit the selection or selections. Next, a view of the communication infrastructure, in the form of cellular antenna placement and/or coverage, along the selected routes for different service providers, is provided to the user. The user can then select the most appropriate service provider.
In one embodiment, an infrastructure database is provided. The infrastructure database includes information on the locations and types of infrastructure maintained by a service provider, and other indicators of service area coverage and the quality of service for each service provider. For example, the location and types of cellular antennas maintained or operated by a cellular service provider can be stored in the infrastructure database.
One aspect of the present invention is a method of facilitating the bidding process over a network for the supply of utility services, the method comprising: receiving over a network individual historical utility consumption and use information for corresponding service consumers; generating individual profiles, based at least in part on the historical consumption and use information, for at least a first portion of the consumers; providing over the network information corresponding to the individual profiles to at least a first utility service supplier; receiving a bid from the first utility supplier to supply utility service to at least a first consumer in the first portion of consumers; and providing the bid to at least a first recipient.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of facilitating the bidding process for the supply of services, the method comprising: receiving historical service usage information for a plurality of consumers; generating individual profiles, based at least in part on the service usage information, for at least a first portion of the plurality of consumers; selectively providing information related to the individual profiles to at least a first supplier; receiving a first bid from the first supplier to supply at least one of a service and a product to at least a first consumer in the first portion of consumers; and providing the first bid to at least a first recipient.
Still another aspect of the present invention is a method of providing consumers with bids from suppliers of utility services, the method comprising: receiving a request for bids for a plurality of utility services from at least a first user over a network; receiving historical utility usage information for at least a portion of the plurality of utility services; providing via the network information related to the received utility usage information to a plurality of bidders; receiving a bid to supply the plurality of utility services from at least a first bidder; and receiving a bid to supply only a portion of the plurality of utility services from at least a second bidder.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method of requesting offers to supply utility services to consumers, the method comprising: receiving utility service usage information from a plurality of consumers; generating individual profiles, based at least in part on the utility service usage information, for the plurality of consumers;
providing information corresponding to the individual profiles to at least a first offeror of utility service; and receiving an offer from the first offeror to supply utility service to an aggregated group of consumers, wherein the aggregated group is at least partly selected by the first offeror from the plurality of consumers.
One aspect of the present invention is a method of facilitating the bidding process for the supply of utility services, the method comprising: receiving utility service usage information from at least a first commercial consumer; receiving meter information on a plurality of meters associated with the first commercial consumer; providing data related to the utility service usage information and the meter information to at least a first utility service supplier; and receiving a bid from the first utility supplier to supply utility service to the at least first commercial consumer.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of generating offers to supply utility services to consumers, the method comprising: providing a first set of offer elements related to providing a first utility service to a consumer; receiving a user selection of offer elements from the first set that are to be included in the offer to the consumer; receiving from the user at least a first value associated with at least a first of the selected offer elements; and providing an offer to the consumer based on at least the selected offer elements and the first value.
Still another aspect of the present invention is a method of requesting offers over to supply services to consumers, the method comprising: generating individual profiles for the plurality of consumers based on information received over a network; providing information corresponding to the individual profiles to at least a first offeror of a first service; and receiving an offer from the first offeror to supply the first service to an aggregated group of consumers, wherein the aggregated group is at least partly selected by the first offeror from the plurality of consumers.
One aspect of the present invention is a method of providing items and related services in a physical store, the method comprising: providing a first terminal in the store; networking the first terminal to a server having an item database and a services database; receiving an indication from a first customer that the first customer wants to purchase a first item-type; receiving profile information related to the first-item type from the first customer using the first terminal; based on the profile information, selecting a plurality of items from the item database corresponding to the first item-type and a plurality of related services of a first service type from the services database; ranking the selected plurality of items and related services; presenting information on the ranked selected plurality of items and related services to the customer on the first terminal; receiving an order for at least one of the ranked selected plurality of items and at least one of the related services; providing the ordered item to the customer in the store; and activating the ordered service.
Another aspect of the present invention is a networked provisioning system, comprising: a first terminal located in a store, the first terminal configured to receive customer profile information and a customer request for information on at least a first item-type; a first computer system configured to receive customer profile information and the customer request from the first terminal, product information over a network from a product provider computer system, and service information over the network from a service provider computer system, wherein the product information is related to the first item-type, and to store the received customer profile information, product information, and service information in at least a first database; a first module stored in the first computer system, the first module configured to select product information and service information and rank products corresponding to the product information and services corresponding to the service information based on at least the customer profile information and the customer request; a second module stored in the first computer system to receive at least a portion of the selected product information, service information, and rankings and to transmit the received selected product information, service information, and rankings to the first terminal; and a third module stored in the first computer system configured to receive an order from the customer for at least a first product related to the transmitted selected product information and further configured to instruct at least a first store employee to provide the ordered item to the customer.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a networked provisioning system, comprising: a first instruction configured to be stored on a terminal located in a store, the first instruction configured to receive customer profile information and a customer request for information related to at least one of a first product and a first service; a second instruction configured to be stored on a first computer system, the second instruction configured to receive information from the first terminal, including customer profile information and the request for information related to at least one of the first product and the first service; a third instruction configured to receive product information over a network from a product provider computer system, and service information over the network from a service provider computer system, including information related to the at least one of a first product and a first service; a fourth instruction configured to selectively transmit to the first terminal at least portions of at least one of the product information and the service information; a fifth instruction configured to rank at least one of products corresponding to the product information and services corresponding to the service information based on at least the customer profile information and the customer request; a sixth instruction configured to provide ranking information to the first terminal; a seventh instruction configured to transmit an offer of service corresponding to the first product in response to at least one of the customer requesting information on the first product and ordering the first product; and an eighth instruction configured to activate service corresponding to the offered service at least partly in response to the customer accepting the offer.
One aspect of the present invention is a method of correlating telecommunications infrastructure information with user routes, comprising: receiving from a plurality of sources cellular antenna placement information, including latitude and longitude information, for a plurality of cellular antennas in a plurality of regions; requesting, over a network, a user to identify at least a first city and a second city in which the user intends to utilize cellular service; receiving over the network the user city identifications; requesting the user to identify at least a first route on which the user intends to travel from the first city to the second city; receiving an instruction from the user to provide coverage information for a first cellular service provider; identifying, using the antenna placement information, antennas located within a first area through which the first route passes, wherein the antennas are associated with the first cellular service provider; retrieving information related to the coverage of the identified antennas associated with the first cellular service provider; displaying, on a map of the first area presented on a first terminal, area coverage indicators corresponding to the identified antennas associated with the first cellular service provider, wherein coverage gaps on the first route can be identified by the user; receiving an instruction from the user to provide coverage information for a second cellular service provider; identifying, using the antenna placement information, antennas associated with the second cellular service provider located within the first area; retrieving information related to the coverage of the identified antennas associated with the second cellular service provider; and displaying, on the map of the first area presented on the first terminal, area coverage indicators corresponding to the identified antennas associated with the second cellular service provider, wherein coverage gaps on the first route can be identified by the user.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of identifying telecommunications infrastructure placement, comprising: storing cellular antenna placement information for a plurality of cellular antennas associated with a first service provider in a database; storing cellular antenna placement information for a plurality of cellular antennas associated with a second service provider in the database; transmitting a request over a network to a first terminal, for a user to identify at least a first location in which the user intends to utilize cellular service; receiving over the network the user identification of the first location; transmitting information to the first terminal, including map information for the first location and for related travel routes; requesting the user to identify at least one of the travel routes on which the user intends to travel; identifying the cellular coverage for areas along the at least one travel route provided by the first service provider, based at least upon the antenna placement information for the plurality of cellular antennas associated with the first service provider; transmitting to the first terminal display information indicating the cellular coverage for areas along the at least one travel route provided by the cellular service provider; identifying the cellular coverage for areas along the at least one travel route provided by the second cellular service provider, based at least upon the antenna placement information for the plurality of cellular antennas associated with the second service provider; and transmitting to the first terminal display information indicating the cellular coverage for areas along the at least one travel route provided by the second service provider.
Still another aspect of the present invention is a system for correlating user usage information with a service provider""s service coverage, the system comprising: a database configured to store cellular antenna location information for a plurality of cellular antennas associated with a first service provider, and to store cellular antenna placement information for a plurality of cellular antennas associated with a second service provider; at least a first instruction stored in memory configured to transmit a request over a network to a first terminal for a user to identify at least a first location in which the user intends to utilize cellular service; at least a second instruction configured to request the user to identify a travel route at least connecting to the first location on which the user uses cellular service; at least a third instruction configured to determine the cellular coverage provided by the first service provider for areas along the travel route, based at least upon the antenna location information for the plurality of cellular antennas associated with the first service provider; at least a fourth instruction configured to provide to the first terminal information indicating the cellular coverage for areas along the travel route provided by the first service provider; and at least a fifth instruction configured to provide to the first terminal information indicating the cellular coverage for areas along the travel route provided by the second service provider.